Mike, Veronica, Grace, Max & Bennett
Grace however can be bribed and played along nicely for a few pictures of her in her big brown tutu skirt. I'm addicted to Gymboree, I can't go in there because every time I do I want to spend lots of $$$. They just have the cutest stuff!
They both were as warm as I could keep them, and were not ready to leave when I wanted to go, so I guess they had fun!
My sweet little girl was born. 
I wish this picture didn't have red eyes, I'll take them out when I develop it, but couldn't figure it out with blogger.... She was so happy on her birthday!
Grace kept saying she wanted a Cars birthday cake, but I wanted her to have something girly... She was so funny when we went to pick her cake, she wanted most of them, but then changed her mind quickly. Finally we found a Care Bears one and she said that it's I want that one, but just as I went to order it she said she wanted Cars again. Then we found the Princess and the Frog cake, it was so cute and she said yes!
Grace got spoiled by everyone... She had two birthday parties, and of course I forgot my camera for the 2nd one. She got fancy new shoes, an Fur Real pet Elephant, some cute clothes, a V-tech computer, a little phone/piano, a leapster and a puppy vet set with a kennel.
We played Kiss the Frog at Grandma Ruths too. Seeing the kids in their blindfolds was so stinking funny, they looked adorable! Travis and Tylor were good sports too!
At three years old Grace amazes me at her communication skills! She talks so well, she keeps us laughing and smiling. She is highly opinionated and always wants things her way, right now. I love the few minutes each day that she wants to be held, because usually she is "go go go!"
Grace would rather be out of the house, shopping or playing at the park - but she does like her movies. Right now she loves Up!, Pete's Dragon, Car's, Finding Nemo and the really old claymation Curious George. She rarely naps - and has a hard time with the concept of quiet time.
Grace LOVES books. We could read together for hours. She is good at remember which page says what and fills in the blanks when we read her favorites. She loves "But No Elephants!", And of the Little Critter books, but especially "Going to the Dentist", "Jenny in the hospital" and the little Elmo series from Target.
Grace used to be able to count to 10, but she WILL NOT do it now. She counts to three, some times to four or five but then she stops. I try to count with her, but she ignores me. That's my stubborn little girl!
Grace also loves her puppies and kitty, her snake, her elephant and her teddy bears. Much to my sadness she is not a baby doll lover. How could MY child not love dolls? My mom thinks it's funny because I hated stuffed animals, but not Grace, she plays with them all day long.
She loves to "help" in the kitchen, dress in her princess dresses and walk in the snow.
This past year she has changed so much, her feet are starting to straighten out, she still wears braces every night and is doing better about keeping them on. The doctor really wants her to keep up with the braces instead of casting them, because even if we cast them she will just have to wear braces at night to keep them from turning in. Grace also "lost" her binka this year, or at least the nipple off the end of it. She went for several months without one and then got an ear infection and cried for her Binka again, I was strong, I didn't cave. Even though I found a whole plastic bag full of them in my drawer a couple weeks ago.
Love you baby girl!
Grace was so excited about everything - she got Pez in her stocking and a refill pack and candy necklaces. I don't think she even wanted to open up any of her presents.
Santa didn't finish all his cookies, so Max helped a little. Surprise.
Grace loved her puppy and her kitty. She also got a Sit-n-Spin, a Dance Cam, some games and some babies. Growing up I loved baby dolls and hated stuffed animals. I want so badly for Grace to love baby dolls, but she hasn't played with the dolls that Santa brought her once. On the other hand, she hasn't put down the kitty - 
Max got trucks and cars and a puppy too. He is all boy, he puts the cars in the dump truck and drives it around my house. 
After we were finished opening Santa presents Mike told Grace he had a surprise for her. Santa talked with him last night and left a special present in the kitchen. Grace went in and found her frogs on the counter. Mike told her Santa said they were magic frogs and they only stayed with good girls who minded their mommies and daddies and didn't whine or throw tantrums. She has been mesmerized by the frogs - and tells everyone about them. Their names are Chip and Dale - and the place I bought them promised they only needed cleaned 3-4 times a year and their container would always look clean and not smell. 
After the Christmas Eve party we set Santa out some cookies and milk, and the next thing I know Grace is in my bed eating cookies. She told me she was just going to try it for Santa.
One minute I walk in and she's eating a cookie and the next minute she was sound asleep. Unfortunately we were not so lucky with Max, after all the cookies, the candy canes and the Hershey kisses he ate at the party he was up with a tummy ache for several hours that night. But Santa came anyways.
And I guess the kids were good this year, because they sure got spoiled!
Max thought he was pretty neat stuff that he could hold onto the rings.
Miss sassy pants herself. (Side note, Grace wears these silver boots pretty much everyday. I only have one pair of skinny jeans for her- but she doesn't care, she can "match" them with everything.)
This picture turned out a little blurry, but the fact that Max is on his lap is a huge accomplishment. It didn't last long - but then Santa gave him a candy cane - and made it all better. (Can I just say for the record that I hate candy canes, who ever thought that a big sticky stick was a good idea for kids?)
My niece Daisy did not like Santa, the sad look on her face said it all. She wouldn't look at him - not even to get her present.
It's so much fun to see how excited the kids get on Christmas Eve, you can just see it in their eyes.
